1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to telephony and the internet, and more particularly, to a software tool for notifying an internet user of an incoming telephone call.
2. Background
The past several years have seen an explosive growth of the internet. Most of the increase in the popularity of the internet can be attributed to the information content available through the World Wide Web (the “Web”). The Web is built around a network of “server” computers which exchange requests and data from each other using the hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”). The Web consists of Web “pages” designed by a human designer using the Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”). Each Web page contains graphical and text information. A new page may be accessed from the current page via a “hyperlink.”
A user views a Web page using one of a number of commercially available “browser” programs. The browser submits an appropriate HTTP request to establish a communications link with a Web server on the network. A typical HTTP request references a Web page by its unique Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”). A URL identifies the Web server hosting that Web page, so that an HTTP request for access to the Web page can be routed to the appropriate Web server for handling.
A user requests internet access by subscribing to an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”). The ISP owns one or more internet server computers and provides access to other server computers for its subscribers. A user may connect to an ISP server in many ways, but the most common connection method is via a computer modem over conventional analog telephone lines. The user initiates a connection by dialing an ISP-provided access number from within a communications application, usually provided by the ISP. The application transmits user-provided data, such as a user name and password, over the user's computer modem to an application on the server computer. The server computer application confirms the user name and password and provides access to other internet servers. The user's communications application can then launch other internet applications, such as a Web browser.
While connected to the internet, however, the user may not receive any telephone calls over the analog telephone line. With the average internet user connected for over thirty minutes, internet users can frequently miss many important telephone calls. Call Waiting services do not provide an adequate solution to this problem. A user who subscribes to Call Waiting receives neither a visual nor an aural indication of an incoming telephone call. Moreover, many subscribers must disable the Call Waiting service because the Call Waiting transaction (usually one or two beeps) interrupts the user's modem connection to the internet, usually dropping the call.
Other current options available to the user are similarly inadequate. For instance, the user may subscribe to a voice mail service. But such services do not provide an indication to the user that a call and voicemail message were received. In addition, many voicemail services do not answer telephone calls received on a busy line. The user may also elect to purchase a second analog telephone line exclusively reserved for internet use. In most instances, however, the relatively brief time spent on the internet does not warrant the accompanying installation and monthly telephone service costs.